Nest Thermostat vs. Alabama Summer

Mother Nature > AI

Zack White
Jul 30, 2017 · 3 min read
Source: Nest

Last year, I bought a new house. Being a millennial husband & father, I deemed it my duty to outfit our new homestead with the latest technology from the Internet of Shit.

Installation of the Nest Thermostat was easy enough. Our home was less than five years old, and wiring a thermostat is easier than cutting Cat 5. Within thirty minutes, our home had its own “Pat”.

Source: Disney

The first few days were fine. I left the thermostat settings on manual, and I used the app to control the temperature. Then, I let the Nest take control…

In the encyclopedia, the term “Alabama” has three entries:

  • A southeastern US state that’s home to significant landmarks from the American Civil Rights movement.
  • A region culturally obsessed with college football.
  • An area of similar climate to Mercury.

My hope was to come home from work to find a cool home and reduced energy bill. Instead, the Nest had remained off the entire day.

I reviewed the installation manual from cover to cover. I validated the breaker was fine. I promptly called both Nest and a certified technician to check my HVAC system.

The technician determined the Nest had blown a fuse in the HVAC unit, which was a quick repair. He also reviewed my installation of the thermostat and found everything in good standing. He left with my air on.

I awoke in the middle of the night, covered in sweat. Determined to get some rest, I quickly removed the Nest and swapped back to my $25 Honeywell thermostat that came with the house.

On the second call to Nest, I escalated my support ticket to a senior technician, who we’ll call “John”. Nest’s support was top notch throughout. Each technician reviewed my case from beginning to end. Each person understood the product well. “John” was a veteran HVAC repairman who “got tired of being in Texas attics”.

John determined the Nest’s mount unit was not providing a sufficient charge to the thermostat, which was, in turn, causing the A/C to remain off. He sent me two new Nests to try out in case it was a bad batch from the production line.

I called John back a few days after receiving the new Nests, and he walked me through the installation of both thermostats. He even remained on the line to stress test the Nest. This involved 15 minutes of me standing on a toilet to feel an air vent and small talk with a complete stranger.

Unfortunately, the Nests simply did not work with my home despite being compatible according to the manual. John gave me a full refund, and I took the money to buy Nest smoke detectors.

The smoke detectors have been great. The thermostats still need some work before they’re adopted in mass. As much as I wanted the Nest to work, Alabama heat can be persuasive.

Zack White

Written by

I’m an old man trapped in a young man’s body.

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